McCaffery: Experience is starting to pay off for Martelli, Hawks

PHILADELPHIA -- Saint Joseph's had just lost a first-round NIT game, and a close one, starting no seniors, making no excuses. It was a step, a learning experience, a down payment on something better.

Right?

"No," Phil Martelli said at the time.

He was upset, and no end-of-the-season loss is a prompt to bring out the party hats. But there was something about that experience, and that season, and that way the Hawks had grown that said that some night they would collect a dividend. The only question: How soon would they cash in?

Early? Late? Too late to matter? Just in time to salvage a season?

"It showed up today," Halil Kanacevic said Saturday night, after a 70-69 victory over Temple on Hawk Hill. "It didn't show up in the beginning of the season. But it is starting to show up more now. The past couple of games have been close games. The experience helps."

In a game not decided until 0.7 seconds remained, the Hawks rallied from four points behind in the last four minutes to improve to 13-7. It was their third consecutive victory, their fourth in their last five, the kind of game that they might not have won last season -- or earlier in this one.

Because it's February, and because it's fun, the moment will be magnified, with many yelling it will doom Temple, others insisting that it will validate the Hawks. It's too early for that, and it is outrageous, considering that the Owls were one more Khalif Wyatt shot from winning.

What happens if Temple wins its next five? What happens if the Hawks lose Wednesday night in Dayton? Won't the bracketology be remixed? That's why Martelli gave his Hawks about a day to enjoy a Big 5 win ... and not a day and a half, either.

"They can have until Monday morning," he said. "Then we are on the road, at Dayton. And 13,000 people are going to show up at Dayton. They are going to come in a wounded team, having lost two in a row. That's not a night off. There are no nights off in this league. You know what? The sky was falling because we beat Fordham by four the other night. It was on the road. No nights off, man. No nights off.

"What I just told the team is, 'Wednesday night, start to appreciate the climb.' Because we were out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament a couple of games ago. Had it ended that day, we were out. Now, we can see the top of the league."

The Hawks started their A-10 season at 1-3. But they fought off Xavier, then survived Fordham, then won the physical battle against Temple. The climb, indeed.

"We've been playing together and playing good," said Kanacevic, whose 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and two snuffs were critical. "And we have been pulling out some tough games at the end, Xavier, Fordham, tonight. So we hope it continues."

It could.

No, it should.

Saint Joseph's was built for this moment, with so many upper-class contributors, including senior Carl Jones, the late-game difference-maker Saturday. The Hawks have waited to be in a position to blast through February and continue long into March.

"We played Butler here, didn't do enough, lost a one-possession game," Martelli said. "We played VCU, we were up four with 14 seconds left, we didn't close the deal. So, guess what: That's why I am saying, they can have until Monday morning."

The Hawks have their next two on road -- at Dayton, at Massachusetts -- then return to host Richmond. Looking at their later schedule, three of their last five will be at 54th and City Line. They came within less than a second of a difficult loss Saturday, but they won the way a veteran team will win.

"Long season," Kanacevic said. "But this league is so close that everything is up for grabs right now."

At 13-7, hot, experienced, with a doable remaining climb, the Hawks can grab plenty.

It is exactly what they were prepared for, back when it was more difficult to appreciate.